The Republic of Malta is seriously sick, and the disease is the result of a lack of good governance that has gnawed away at our institutions, resulting in gross abuse and corruption, ADPD-The Green Party said Saturday.

In a press conference held near the Office of the Prime Minister in Castille, Valletta, Carmel Cacopardo, ADPD-The Green Party's Deputy Chairperson, emphasised that without transparency and real accountability, very little can be done about good governance.    

"The cases that we have faced over the last few years are numerous.  Let's start with the social security benefits for severe disability, where millions of Euros were misappropriated  and handed over to people who had no right to claim them, the phantom job given to Rosianne Cutajar, and the consultancy role for Amanda Muscat, who was at the time the girlfriend of former Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo. Bartolo was recently forced to resign.  However, his friend and colleague, Minister Clint Camilleri and the Permanent Secretaries who facilitated this abuse are still in office, as if nothing wrong has ever happened!  There is also Justyne Caruana, who has resigned twice from office, once because of the fake consultancy job given to her friend Daniel Bogdanovic."

"The little that we know about these scandals is because of the continuous efforts of the National Audit Office (NAO), the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life.  It is a result of their investigations that we now know, more clearly than ever, that the Labour Party in government has not only allowed this abuse to fester  but has also actively tried to cover it up. It is a government that continuously closes both eyes to the ongoing abuse of public office. 

"We need serious accountability," Cacopardo emphasised.  "This means that everybody needs to take responsibility for their actions.  This does not apply only to politicians who abuse their position of power, but also the public officials who enable this to happen.  This is what happened in every single case.  In spite of this, these enablers retain their current positions or are rewarded in other ways".

Sandra Gauci, ADPD-The Green Party's Chairperson, spoke about the case of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, who enabled the abuse perpetrated by Justyne Caruana. He was removed from that post, only to be appointed as CEO of Aquatic Resources Malta. She also added that the same occurred in the case of the Institute for Tourism Studies, where a phantom job was created for Rosianne Cutajar, with the enabler also embroiled in a number of other irregularities as well. "As a party, we pay attention to these things and we regularly bring things to the attention of the General Auditor as well as the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life about alleged irregularities that need to be investigated."

Sandra Gauci said that there are several pending requests submitted by ADPD for investigation.  "This week we have asked for the appointment of Johann Buttigieg as CEO of the Planning Authority, who is currently a consultant to a major developer, to be investigated. The Planning Authority should be in competent hands, far from any direct influence from the developers' lobby.  We have asked for an investigation because the clear conflict of interest here has been completely ignored. A person who is very close to the developers' lobby should never be appointed as the regulator of development. 

This week we have also been informed by the Auditor General that our request for an investigation into Project Green will proceed.  Three weeks ago, we asked for an investigation into the suspicious direct order of one million Euros in connection with a carpark planned in Cospicua, added to this is the rampant nepotism in connection with the recruitment of various employees in different roles at Project Green. We will continue to insist on transparency and accountability as this is how our country can heal.  Transparency is necessary.  Accountability is necessary so that everybody takes responsibility for their actions.  Without transparency and a strong sense of accountability, our country cannot navigate its way towards good governance, concluded Gauci.